Staffing

Requisites

Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BAHN or BCAH

Other requisites

Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.

Synopsis

This two unit course enables students enrolled in the Honours programme to commence their dissertation under supervision. The student shall enrol in either MODULE 1 or MODULE 2. The topic shall be chosen by the student and approved by the supervisor, and may be either the result of original investigations, or embody a critical appraisal or analysis of primary or secondary source material. The dissertation may be (i) fully written (Module 1), comprising 12,000-15,000 words; or (ii) consist of a professional body of work and a written exegesis of 5,000-8,000 words (Module 2). Module 2 is especially suited to BCAH students. This course will normally be followed by HMT4002 Honours Dissertation B.

Objectives

On completion of this course students will be able to:

develop a research proposal, including defining a topic, developing a research design, incorporating an annotated bibliography and justifying a methodology;

undertake independent research, under supervision, on a proposed topic;

review the literature relevant to a selected dissertation topic;

develop an annotated bibliography in a full literature review;

apply and justify methodology appropriate to a research topic.

Topics

Description

Weighting(%)

1.

Proposal

40.00

2.

Literature Review

40.00

3.

Methodology

20.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2012&sem=02&subject1=HMT4001)

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Student workload requirements

Activity

Hours

Directed Study

15.00

Private Study

150.00

Assessment details

Description

Marks out of

Wtg (%)

Due Date

Notes

DETAILED PROPOSAL

1

100

17 Jul 2012

(see note 1)

INITIAL PROPOSAL

1

0

17 Jul 2012

(see note 2)

ORAL PRESENTATION

1

0

17 Jul 2012

(see note 3)

PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL

1

0

17 Jul 2012

(see note 4)

NOTES

Actual Due Date to be advised by Examiner.

Actual Due Date to be advised by Examiner.

Actual Due Date to be advised by Examiner.

Students who obtain an unsatisfactory progress report at this stage may be advised against proceeding further.

Important assessment information

Attendance requirements:
It is the students? responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.

Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without (prior) approval of the examiner then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded.

Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

Examination information:
There is no examination in this course.

Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
As there are no examinations in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au.

Assessment notes

The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must despatch the assignment to the USQ. The onus is on the student to provide proof of the despatch date, if requested by the Examiner.

Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be despatched to USQ within 24 hours if required by the Examiner.

In accordance with University Policy, the Examiner may grant an extension of the due date of an assignment in extenuating circumstances.

If electronic submission of assessments is specified for the course, students will be notified of this in the course Introductory Book and on the USQ Study Desk. All required electronic submission must be made through the Assignment Drop Box located on the USQ Study Desk for the course, unless directed otherwise by the examiner of the course. The due date for an electronically submitted assessment is the date by which a student must electronically submit the assignment. The assignment files must be submitted by 11.55pm on the due date using USQ time (as displayed on the clock on the course home page; that is, Australian Eastern Standard Time).

If the method of assessment submission is by written, typed or printed paper-based media students should (i) submit to the Faculty Office for students enrolled in the course in the on-campus mode, or (ii) mail to the USQ for students enrolled in the course in the external mode. The due date for the assessment is the date by which a student must (i) submit the assessment for students enrolled in the on-campus mode, or (ii) mail the assessment for students enrolled in the external mode.

The Faculty will NOT normally accept submission of assessments by facsimile or email.

Students who do not have regular access to postal services for the submission of paper-based assessments, or regular access to Internet services for electronic submission, or are otherwise disadvantaged by these regulations may be given special consideration. They should contact the examiner of the course to negotiate such special arrangements prior to the submission date.

Students who have undertaken all of the required assessments in a course but who have failed to meet some of the specified objectives of a course within the normally prescribed time may be awarded one of the temporary grades: IM (Incomplete - Make up), IS (Incomplete - Supplementary Examination) or ISM (Incomplete -Supplementary Examination and Make up). A temporary grade will only be awarded when, in the opinion of the examiner, a student will be able to achieve the remaining objectives of the course after a period of non directed personal study.

Students who, for medical, family/personal, or employment-related reasons, are unable to complete an assignment or to sit for an examination at the scheduled time may apply to defer an assessment in a course. Such a request must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation. One of the following temporary grades may be awarded IDS (Incomplete - Deferred Examination; IDM (Incomplete Deferred Make-up); IDB (Incomplete - Both Deferred Examination and Deferred Make-up).

Students are strongly advised to maintain regular contact with their supervisor.

It is imperative that Dissertation/Project students check with their supervisor(s) whether they need to obtain ethics clearance for their Dissertation/Project.

The dissertation shall be typed and bound and shall conform with the Faculty of Arts style guide for the presentation of theses and dissertations.

Preliminary proposal (on enrolment in the course) - In order to facilitate the satisfaction of these assessment requirements, students must submit a one page preliminary thesis proposal with application for enrolment.

Assessment of the dissertation normally shall be carried out by two qualified examiners, at least one of whom is external to the University of Southern Queensland, and none of whom is supervising the student for this thesis.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all chapter drafts, as well as the final draft of their dissertation, be written in an acceptable standard of English expression. If students' initial work is not of an acceptable standard, students will be encouraged to use the services of a copy-editor, or to seek assistance from a competent writer of English. It is not the supervisor's principal role to correct English spelling, expression or grammar, although appropriate advice will be given. Dissertations or drafts of chapters of dissertations that are not expressed to a standard of English expression acceptable to the supervisor will be referred back to the student for correction, and will not be submitted for examination until corrected. Students who fail to address this aspect of their dissertation risk failing the course. Any expenses incurred in having drafts checked by copy-editors will be met by the student. Please also note that while copy-editing may be carried out by someone who is not the student, all the substantial content of the dissertation must be the student's own work

Final results shall be awarded by the Honours and Postgraduate Committee of the relevant School, following receipt of the completed examiners' reports.

Students may be assigned an "Incomplete" grade to signify that all the requirements of the course have not yet been met. Students who are graded "I" can pass the course by successfully completing such additional work as prescribed by the examiner by a given date. Students who have been awarded an IM, ISM, IDM or IDB grade must access information regarding further work to be completed, in the Student Centre of U Connect. The Grades Page in the Student Centre contains information about further work to be completed. Students who have not completed the additional work to the satisfaction of the examiner by the given date will receive the appropriate Failing grade.

Other requirements

Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.